Piles of rotting produce line street near downtown LA

The Brief

LOS ANGELES - Piles of rotting produce extend for blocks, mountains of it, near the Wholesale Produce District south of downtown Los Angeles .

What we know:

Naomi Avenue seems to be ground zero of a produce wasteland filled with flies, roaches, rats, but also people picking through the produce for edible fruits and vegetables.

Off camera, locals claim that smaller produce companies, that don't have large waste bins, actually pay people to dump their unsellable produce at the site. The city of Los Angeles picks up some of it on garage day, but it piles back up again.

The entire thing is happening in front of a building labeled as a Los Angeles Fleet Service parking area, with cameras pointed at the corner. No one there would talk to us. Neither would anyone in any of the